JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Dolores Huerta was, of course, known around the world for her tireless work as a labor and political organizer. That work continued well into her 90s. But few people knew that she was just as passionate about jazz music. Felix Contreras is the host of NPR Music's Alt.Latino podcast, and he once shared the mic in our NPR studios with Dolores Huerta as she spun some of her favorite jazz tracks. Felix, what an experience. Thanks for being here.
FELIX CONTRERAS, BYLINE: Thank you.
SUMMERS: Now, when we heard today that Dolores Huerta had died, we knew that we wanted to talk to you about the time you spent with her. Tell us the story.
CONTRERAS: OK, in 2017, the PBS series "Independent Lens" presented a documentary about Dolores Huerta that was directed by Peter Bratt and executive produced by Carlos Santana. Now, I attended a screening here in D.C., and I made my way through the crowd of admirers to invite her to the podcast to talk about the film. And I told her we were mostly a musical podcast, and she told me that she could talk about music as well.
SUMMERS: OK.
CONTRERAS: You have to know that in the earliest days of organizing the United Farm Workers union, both agitprop theater and music were used as organizing tools, and it was mostly Mexican folk music. So when I invited her, I expected a completely different playlist than the one she brought.
SUMMERS: OK, this is just an amazing story. Did she mention anything to you that gave you a sense of just how serious of a music fan she was?
CONTRERAS: Yeah, she talked about traveling from her home in Stockton to go to jazz clubs in San Francisco. Then she pulled off the ultimate jazz fan name drop.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
DOLORES HUERTA: And I guess my claim to fame is I met Charlie Parker (laughter).
CONTRERAS: Oh, my gosh. Tell me about that. What was that like?
HUERTA: Well, I was dumbstruck. I couldn't talk. I mean, when I saw Charlie Parker, I just started staring at him, and I couldn't say anything. And it was a pretty awkward moment because I did have a lot that I wanted to ask him about, and I couldn't say anything. I was just frozen, just frozen.
CONTRERAS: (Laughter).
HUERTA: My one time - I have met, you know, President Obama, and we worked with Hillary, Bill Clinton, many, many famous people. But when I met Charlie Parker, I was at a loss for words.
CONTRERAS: (Laughter).
SUMMERS: And Felix, you can hear the affection and the enthusiasm in her voice there.
CONTRERAS: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
SUMMERS: I do want to know how were her jazz DJ skills?
CONTRERAS: You know, she definitely knew her stuff, man. She actually had a pleasant jazz radio host voice. But being who she was, she sprinkled some social justice messaging along with the music. Now, here she is reminding us of the legacy of racism in show business as she cued up Lena Horne's hit "Stormy Weather." Now, keep in mind, this is from 2017.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
HUERTA: As you know, we are now in a very difficult political era in our United States of America. We might say it's because of stormy weather. And also, Lena Horne was such a great singer and a very great actress, but she, like many of the Black performers of that time, were completely ostracized and eliminated. They didn't have the successful careers that they should have had to white audiences because they happened to be African American. What a loss to so many people.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STORMY WEATHER")
LENA HORNE: (Singing) So weary all the time. Since he went away...
SUMMERS: I mean, that's just absolutely beautiful. You can hear her there weaving together the politics of the time and history just in such a seamless, clear way.
CONTRERAS: Yeah.
SUMMERS: Did she play any music from the Latin jazz world?
CONTRERAS: OK, she went completely foundational to the birth of Afro Cuban jazz with Dizzy Gillespie and the legendary Cuban drummer and vocalist Chano Pozo, whose life and career was cut short by a shooting.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
HUERTA: We have to think of our Latin American roots. We have to think of where our Latin music came from. It all came from Africa. Everybody, let's remember that. And also, to think of gun violence. We have so much of that in our country, and we need to end it. So that means we have to be vigilant. We have to know what's going on and make sure that we can kind of end the gun violence in the United States of America. So let's hear some great music with Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo.
(SOUNDBITE OF DIZZY GILLESPIE'S "MANTECA")
SUMMERS: I mean, Felix, this is just such an incredible opportunity. I have to confess I'm jealous. I wonder, in the time that you spent with Dolores Huerta, was there anything that gave you insight into her as just a person?
HUERTA: Yeah. You know, when she ended her guest DJ spot, she played a Charlie Parker track that wasn't the ferociously fast music he's known for. She played a track - she played a ballad from the "Charlie Parker With Strings" album and referenced a Latin American poet in her intro. And to me, that reflected an aspect of Dolores Huerta's life that maybe wasn't all that well known, a childlike sense of awe for art and beauty that seemed to fuel the steely determination and dedication that was her life's work.
SUMMERS: You've been hearing Dolores Huerta playing jazz DJ on the NPR Music podcast Alt.Latino. That was back in September of 2017. Host Felix Contreras brought us these moments. Felix, it's been such a pleasure, and this must have been just an incredible thrill for you.
CONTRERAS: It was an honor then, and it's an honor now. Thank you.
SUMMERS: Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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